Not that they aren't great stories, but it would be nice to have one with a much happier ending.

''Kieren and the boys [his brothers Rhys and Brandon], have grown up listening to my stories about losing grand finals,'' said former Balmain fullback Garry Jack. ''I think Kieren knows what it's like by now. Maybe he can have one over me and have a grand final story with a better ending.''

Kieren is his eldest son, the boy who chose AFL over rugby league and has steadily converted his father into a fan. On Saturday, Kieren will be a vital cog in the Swans' midfield as they try to upset Hawthorn and win the Jack family their first top grade football premiership.

Garry was there for the Tigers in 1988 and again in 1989, and both ended in tears - literally for many of the players.

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''Kieren would have been in the rooms after both grand finals. He would have been a baby in 1988 and about 15 months in '89. He's been to both mine so I think it's only right I go to his.''

During his illustrious rugby league career, Garry achieved it all - the missing piece was a grand final victory.

In 1988 his Tigers lost to Canterbury 24-12, then had a heartbreaking loss to Canberra 19-14 in extra time, the following season. ''We led 14-2, and got run down with a minute 41 seconds on the clock, but who's counting. We were close but …'' recalled Garry yesterday.

''Hopefully Kieren has a better ending on Saturday.''

After Friday's win over Collingwood in the preliminary final, the Jack family gathered around Kieren in the Swans rooms. It was, said Garry, a great family moment. He added that sometimes even great players go their whole career without playing a grand final, ''now Kieren had made one and it was a special moment for us as a family''.

Garry got the perfect initiation to watching AFL football. He and Kieren attended the 2005 grand final at the MCG and sat just behind the goal posts.

''It was the first game I ever went to,'' said Garry. ''Such a great atmosphere, 100,000 people at the MCG. It was something I'd never felt before.

''And it was a great grand final even though I didn't know any of the players in the team, just the experience and atmosphere. And the Swans got up with Leo Barry taking that mark not too far from where we were sitting. It was a fantastic sporting experience only surpassed a week later for obvious reasons when the Tigers won the grand final.''

The pair were at that match too. Kieren recalled how, after the game, his father ''barged his way through'' and took him into the Tigers' jubilant dressing rooms.

If you had asked Garry back in 1989 if he thought he would one day be at the MCG watching his son play an AFL grand final, the response would have been emphatic.

''You're dreaming. That's what I would have said, you're dreaming,'' Garry said. ''It's great for his mother too. His mother has put in so much work taking him and his brothers to training all the way through, and has always been there for them. She gets a bit left out because I'm his dad, but she has always been there when he didn't have his licence, and when I used to work Saturdays so she had to juggle everything with their games, and they have all been successful, which is a great credit to Donna really.''

Kieren has heard the stories repeatedly over the years, but what about the lesson. Having been so close to fulfilling the dream of winning a grand final, surely there is some advice Garry has imparted.

''It's a simple message,'' Kieran said. ''You've just got to take your chances and leave everything out there. Don't come off the field and say: 'I wish I had done this or I wish I had done that'. Just go with your gut and give your all and that way you don't come off wondering what might have been if I did this or that.''